COVID Vaccine Nepal: Where is the effort to produce coronavirus vaccine in Nepal?
KATHMANDU: OCT. 12 – According to the government’s latest plan to set up a vaccine lab in Nepal to produce a vaccine against coronavirus, a Nepali company has been allowed to move forward, officials said.
He said a working group had already recommended to the government that the government could facilitate the company to produce Chinese vaccines and that preliminary work was being done accordingly. Nepal is currently importing coronavirus vaccines from different countries.
Amidst the possibility of a various waves of coronavirus infections, the government has mentioned in its policy and program to set up a vaccine lab in Nepal for the production of vaccines against coronavirus. A task force has also been formed with the help of the government to assist the private sector in the production and necessary process.
What does the government help?
The task force has been working for a month and has submitted its report to the government and has even given permission to a company to move the work forward.
Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Arjun Prasad Pokhrel, who is also the coordinator of the task force, said, “Based on our report, the government has decided to provide some facilities to the industry in terms of vaccine production.”We have included in the report about tax facilities, providing land to the company as required, and providing loans at cheaper interest rates.”
Which company gets permission?
Officials at the Ministry of Health and Population said the company was a Nepali company producing Chinese vaccines. Ministry spokesperson Dr. Krishna Prasad Poudel said, “The private sector Deurali Janata Pharmaceuticals industry is trying to produce MRNA vaccine made in China. The vaccines in the study were stopped for testing.”
“After passing that procedure, the cabinet has decided to allow the production and study of two vaccines in Nepal. The Deurali Janata Pharmaceuticals industry may have taken some steps forward in terms of vaccine production.”
There is still a lot of work to be done
But Haribhakta Sharma, executive director of Deurali Janata Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company that received initial permission to set up a vaccine lab, said progress could be made only after a decade. The Department of Drug Administration says the company still has a long way to go to set up a vaccine lab. Director-General of the Department, Narayan Prasad Dhakal, said that the current permission has been given to make necessary arrangements for the establishment of a vaccine lab.
